


How would I live without you

by Cityoffayz



Category: Gone Series - Michael Grant
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Oneshot, proposal, pure fluffy caina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:53:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23795674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cityoffayz/pseuds/Cityoffayz
Summary: "Well, I liked you first.""Well, I said I love you first"."Well, I proposed first""Well - wait, what?"They had reached the beautiful rose garden that Caine knew Diana loved. And he was down on one knee, ring in hand."Diana, will you marry me?"
Relationships: Astrid Ellison/Sam Temple (mentioned), Diana Ladris/Caine Soren
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	How would I live without you

**Author's Note:**

> I kinda hate the title but I couldn't think of anything else so i stole a quote from Plague.  
> Fluff! I get this might be a bit ooc for this kinda dark couple, but nothing wrong with a little artistic license.  
> Enjoy!

"That is absolute bullshit and you know it"

It was date night for Caine and Diana. Every month they scheduled an outing for themselves; dinner, cinema, bowling, you name it. Both of them were constantly busy with work, they had to balance two jobs each to make rent. They deserved one night to relax.

After the Fayz, they had been offered a plea. Caine would get ten years in prison, Diana would get six. If they served these sentences with no trouble, the government would keep their criminal records basic. Employers could only see the time served, and not the crimes in which they have been charged with. It wasn't a great deal, but it was the best being offered to them. Better to serve time and come out with a vaguely blank slate, rather than be dogged with the images they created from themselves. Caine didn't think 'murderer of six, cemented children's hands, arsonist by association' would lead to good job opportunities, or any opportunities.

Diana had to wait four years for Caine to be released. She stayed in the guest bedroom at Sam and Astrids and worked as a waitress; saving her small checks and stingy tips to pay for the bus fare to visit Caine every weekend. It was a long trip to make each Saturday, but it was always worth it. Seeing Caine just reminded her why she even bothered to do more than just exist after the Fayz. Sure, she mocked him in his orange jumpsuit and scraggly hair. Caine didn't care. It was enough to see each other just once a week.

Caine and Diana had spent six years apart with no contact. When they were both in prison, they couldn't call or visit each other. They were only 50 miles apart, but they might as well have been on opposite ends of the country. Sam and Astrid alternated between them every weekend, they gave them updates on how the other was doing. Beyond that? There was no contact. Nothing. For six years.

Caine tried not to let it bother him. But the longer time went on, the more the lack of communication bothered him. What if she has forgotten about him? What if she didn't love him anymore? Maybe, after the long years in prison, Diana realised that she is so much better than him, that she is so out of his league, and she set him aside. Caine came with an immense amount of baggage, he wasn't blind to that. He was a burden. Maybe she had decided she simply couldn't cope with him anymore.

And what then? What would he do once his ten years was up? No money, no job, no girlfriend. Caine figured he could bunk with Sam for a while, to make sure he got back on his feet. But then what? He had nothing. Any ambitious plans for a career or college went out of the window with his prison sentence. His adopted family wanted nothing to do with him. Sure, he still talked to Sam, he occasionally visited, but it wasn't like they were close. She was all he had left.

And Caine was terrified that he lost her already, and he didn't even know it.

4th October. Caine could remember that day as if it were yesterday. It had been six years since he had last spoken, seen, or looked at Diana.

Caine thought of her everyday for six years; her dark hair, her dry laugh, that wry smile. It was a long countdown, but he had marked the months and the years. And the day had finally come.

But then the anxiety began growing. Sam and Astrids visits had became less frequent, and thus the updates on Diana became less frequent. When he asked about Diana, how she was and what she was doing, all he got were vague replies. And with every week the doubt had began to grow.

Caine sat nervously in the prison waiting room on the fourth of October, just in case his name was called. Prison visiting hours ran from ten till five, and it was already half past two. He tried to act casual, but his body betrayed him. Caine chewed his thumbnail down to the quick, while his mind taunted him for his foolish hope.

Diana got out of prison on the first of the month. She could be here, she could see him. If she wanted to.

Maybe she didn't want to.

"Soren, Caine"

His legs felt numb as he rose to his feet. Caine was careful to keep his face a blank slate, it didn't do good to show emotion in prison. The last thing he needed for the next four years was to be considered a weakling. Caine walked into the visiting room, and felt all the breath go out of him.

Diana was sitting there. She looked exactly as he remembered, somehow she hadn't aged a day. Her hair was long again, there was no hint of starvation on her face. Caine couldn't help but grin at the sight of her.

It was awkward to start with. They never exactly talked during the Fayz, not about normal stuff anyway. They talked about food, shelter, survival. They didn't ask each other how their days were, no small talk. It was a rocky start, but it slowly became natural. However shit life in prison was, Caine could get through the week knowing he could see Diana every Saturday.

And here they are, two years later. And everything was fine.

They lived in a shitty apartment in a bad neighbourhood, working ridiculously long hours. Every so often, they visited Sam and Astrid in Santa Monica. They lived in a three storey house with a pool, and actually had a decent income and savings. Right now, they were vacationing in London. Caine and Diana got all the photos of them awkwardly cheesing in front of London landmarks on facebook.

Money didn't matter though. Anything was better than what they had lived through in the past 12 years. Sure, Caine and Diana couldn't afford luxuries. But they spent the spare money they had on the things that mattered.

It was October, the two year anniversary of Caine getting out of prison. Both had wangled the night off work; they weren't quite sure how they had managed it. They had gone to a nice-ish restaurant, gotten tipsy, and were now arguing with each other about who was the most outspoken in their love for the other. Both of them couldn't help but make everything a competition.

"That is bullshit!" You cannot even try to claim that you put this relationship into motion" Diana scoffed, her arm looped around Caines to keep herself steady. They were walking aimlessly around the park, paying no mind to the darkening sky. There was nothing out there in the shadows that could scare them, not after what they had been through.

"Diana, you hated me for a solid six months. Are you seriously going to try and claim you actually liked me the whole time?"

Diana considered it. While she was a good liar normally, she was magnificently bad when drunk. Caine had annoyed the hell out of her for ages after they first met, she couldn't even properly pinpoint the feelings of irritation became feelings of interest or love. Was it at Coates, or perhaps on the island? Who knows? Certainly not her after two bottles of wine.

"Perhaps not, but you were the definition of emotionally closed off throughout the entirety of the Fayz. I mean, who was it that first said I love you? Somehow I don't remember it being you."

"Well, I liked you first."

"Well, I said I love you first".

"Well, I proposed first"

"Well - wait, what?"

They had reached the beautiful rose garden that Caine knew Diana loved. And he was down on one knee, ring in hand.

"Diana, will you marry me?"

Caine had been planning this ever since he had got out of prison. He didn't want to risk ever losing Diana again. It was still difficult for him to admit, but he loved her. He wanted to be with her. He was hers, and she was his.

The main difficulty had been the ring. Working minimum wage with no savings, and having to pay rent in California didn't allow for expensive engagement rings. Caine saved every cent he could, but he couldn't afford it. So, with great pain, he threw away the last of his dignity and asked to borrow money from Sam.

The second challenge had been choosing the ring itself. How was he supposed to know what Diana would like? She was incredibly unpredictable. With much reluctance from both parties involved, Caine dragged Sam to over ten jewellery stores before he found the perfect ring. It was simple, elegant, and way more than he could afford. But hey, that's what brothers are for, right?

The next stage was planning the couldn't afford some massive spectacle, and he knew Diana (and himself) would hate something like that anyway. She despised cliches as well.

In the end, Caine decided to keep it simple. A normal date night, a walk around the park. Hopefully he wouldn't accidentally tip her off about what he was going to do. It was difficult to pull the rug out from under Diana, she could read him like a book. Caine would never admit to being a romantic, but he wanted to see the surprise on her face.

Well, in the end, it turned out to be more a look of complete shock, but it was better than nothing.

"I - are you proposing?"

"I'm surprised the ring, the kneeling, and the asking you didn't tip you off, but. Yeah"

Diana was in shock. She never would have suspected this. Caine wasn't exactly the type to willingly commit. Years down the line, when they had both matured and when they had more money? Sure, she could see it then. But now? And with zero prompt from herself?

"Diana, you are the most important person in my life. Those six years without you were the longest of my life. I cannot imagine not seeing you everyday, waking up next to you, kissing you, being with you. I know I have made a million and one mistakes in our relationship and there is nothing I wouldn't do to take those back. Diana Blair Ladris, will you marry me?"

Never, in their many years of somewhat dating and actual dating, had Diana heard Caine be so open about anything. He made countless speeches, but they were never meaningful. He talked a lot of shit, but this was different. This was honest. If Caine was a different guy, Diana would say he was speaking from the heart. But this was still Caine. It took a long time for her to even be sure he had a heart.

Diana could still remember all the worst moments in their relationship as if it were yesterday. Caine abandoning her when pregnant. Caine slapping her in the plaza. Caine breaks his promise to stay on the island. She had seen him do terrible things, and helped him in many of those awful deeds. She still had to fight the wave of guilt and self loathing that threatens to drown her everyday.

Caine killing Drake when he hurt her. Him going back to the Gaiaphage to retrieve Lana in the slim hope of healing her. Him pushing and driving them to the island, the only last hope that any of them had. Him choosing to save her over taking his revenge on Sanjit. Caine risking his life a million times over to make sure she survived. Caine, somehow, beyond all reason, being the first person she was sure that she truly loved.

There was no question.

"Yes".


End file.
